“Stop it. I’m covered with bubbles and completely decent.” This was true. She was, but the knowledge that Brooklyn was completely naked beneath that thin layer of soap had her mind and body on high alert. It was an overly sensual image and had Jessica reminding herself to breathe. Her job was to be there for Brooklyn, to offer support, not to imagine her naked in a bathtub. Not that she could control the reaction she was having, because it was a powerful one.
Brooklyn stared back at her oddly, almost curiously. Had she missed a question?
“I’m sorry. Did you say something?” Jessica asked.
“I was just wondering about the wine? Are you planning to keep both glasses? Because in kindergarten, we learned to share.”
“Right. The wine.” She covered the short distance between them and handed Brooklyn the glass. But her mouth went dry and her brain stopped working properly as she glimpsed tops of breasts peeking out from beneath the bubbles. “Here you go.”
“Thank you.” Brooklyn took a slow sip from the glass and closed her eyes. And whether it was meant to be or not, Jessica found the move incredibly alluring, which also meant she needed to get the hell out of there. They had a “being good” pact that she was not planning to break.
“I’ll let you soak for a while.”
“Stay,” Brooklyn said to her retreating form. “We can just talk.”
Jessica turned around slowly. “That’s not what would happen if I let myself stay.”
Brooklyn met her gaze, and Jessica watched as recognition flared. Her eyes darkened and her lips parted in subtle response to the implication. The heat in her stare seemed to suck all the air from the space between them. It wasn’t long before the quiet room was overflowing with sexual tension. Thick and potent.
“I’ll let myself out,” Jessica said quietly.
Brooklyn only nodded.
It was a testament to their relationship, the way they were able to get back on track after the sexy bathtub encounter. When Brooklyn emerged in shorts and a T-shirt awhile later, Jessica thanked God it was oversized. They cooked dinner together and found their way back to a light, friendly banter. The day had been killer, and a little everyday-casual was like water in the middle of a desert. They both seemed to zero in on the need for it.
“You’re over-seasoning that chicken,” Brooklyn said as she glanced into the pan.
Jessica let her mouth fall open. “I’m sorry. I thought I was in charge of sautéing the chicken and you were on mac-and-cheese duty. Did I misread the memo?”
Brooklyn pinched her side playfully. “No, Ms. Lennox. I’m just looking out for my dinner. I haven’t eaten anything all day.”
“Ouch. Then you shouldn’t abuse the chef.”
“I shouldn’t. You’re right.” She closed the distance and kissed Jessica. “Sorry for the abuse, Chef Sexy.”
Jessica exhaled slowly, enjoying the attention, the flirtation. “Totally worth it.”
They had an easy dinner at the table and avoided the discussion of the day’s events. Jessica thought her chicken came out a little dry, but Brooklyn didn’t seem to mind.
“Who’s your favorite superhero?”
Jessica stared at her in amusement. “Excuse me?”
“When you were a kid.”
She thought for a moment. “Wonder Woman, I guess.”
Brooklyn’s eyes danced with an idea. “You’d make a perfect Wonder Woman, you know. Maybe for Halloween.”
Jessica scoffed. “I don’t dress up as characters. Ever.”
“Yet,” Brooklyn said happily.
They laughed and turned back to their dinner, eating peacefully, Etta James playing from the radio Jessica found in the closet. They’d be heading back to the city in the morning, and Jessica wondered if it had been a worthwhile trip. Maybe over time, Brooklyn would be able to put aside her feelings of resentment and forge an actual relationship with her parents.
“Jess?”
“Yeah?”
Brooklyn set her fork down. “I’m not exactly doing well with all of this, but you’ve steadied my listing ship. You let me lash out at you outside, and then you turn around and joke with me in the kitchen. So…thank you.”
Sincerity from Brooklyn meant a lot.
And Jessica was learning to pay attention when moments like this happened. Brooklyn was letting her guard down more and more lately. “You’re welcome. The thing is, I happen to think you’re pretty great. More than that even. I happen to like joking in the kitchen with you. I’m also starting to realize there’s very little I wouldn’t do if you asked me.”
Brooklyn wanted to answer, to say something back, but the lump in her throat stood boldly in the way because the words Jessica had just spoken were powerful. To have a woman like Jessica, who was smart, successful, and beautiful, say she’d do anything for her was a lot to accept. Though she was beginning to. The feelings that welled up inside as a result were unfamiliar. She didn’t quite know what to do with them. So instead of lingering in the moment, of flailing any further, she nodded and cleared her plate.
Seeming to take the cue, Jessica assisted her and they put the kitchen back together in quiet silence. But a new heaviness pervaded the air now, as if that ever-present question mark were back. For Brooklyn, that wasn’t the case. Though she’d just sidestepped the opportunity for a serious conversation about Jessica’s feelings for her, it didn’t mean she didn’t feel those same things too.
And it felt nice to feel something for someone.
As she wiped down the counter, Brooklyn was hyperaware of Jessica’s every move. The way her hair fell across her eye when she leaned down to put the last pan away. The faint scent of her apple-scented lotion. The fullness of the lips she’d explored thoroughly just the day before under the covered bridge. The sensations these things inspired, coupled with the sentiments Jessica had just expressed, had her head swimming. And it wasn’t as if the day hadn’t been full of head swimming already.
She tossed the rag into the sink and washed her hands. “If it’s okay with you, I think I’m going to go to bed. It’s been a tiring day, and I didn’t exactly get a ton of sleep last night.”
“Of course. We can pack the car in the morning and drive back to the city. We should try to be on the road by ten.”
Brooklyn nodded and moved to Jessica, brushing her lips softly and backing away. “Good night.”
“Sweet dreams. Oh, and Brook?”
Brooklyn took note of the shortening of her name. No one besides Jessica called her Brook. It was nice and communicated a familiarity that made something within her flare. “Yeah?”
“If you decide on middle-of-the-night television, wake me up. I’m in.”
She offered a soft smile. “Deal.”
As she lay in the darkened room, watching the shadows that the tree branches cast across the ceiling, she also saw the images of the day flash in succession in her mind. She curled into herself as the requisite sadness those images inspired was upon her instantly. She had a lot to wade through, but the underlying takeaway was that she was alone. She felt so hopelessly alone that it became impossible to feel.
And she needed to.
She needed that connection that she’d never really experienced. The risk had been too high. She’d held herself back. But tonight, that risk didn’t matter. She needed to lose herself in sensation. She needed physical validation.
She desperately wanted.
God, did she want. That part she knew.
But for once, she needed to let herself feel what it was like to be wanted in return.
*
The covers were too much against Jessica’s skin and she shifted beneath them. The night was cool, but her body was acutely aware of even the slightest touch, which kept the bouts of sleep she managed short and ineffective.
As she lay there, floating somewhere between asleep and awake, her thoughts traveled in a direction all their own. They drifted languidly to her encounter in the bathroom with Brooklyn, her body we
t and soapy. She felt it all over. The unmistakable heat in Brooklyn’s eyes, the expanse of skin peeking out from the tub, the bubbles across its surface. She sucked in a breath, folded the offending covers back, and let the cool night air settle lightly around her. She ran her fingertips across her stomach, the outside of her thighs.
Better.
It had been somewhere after two a.m. the last time she’d checked the clock, but sleep hovered just out of her grasp. She closed her eyes anyway and heard the click of her door opening. Blinking against the darkness, she pushed herself up.
And there she was, Brooklyn. She came farther into the room and sat on the edge of the bed next to Jessica. The moonlight illuminated her face. Her eyes were wide, luminous, searching as she delicately brushed the hair from Jessica’s forehead.
Jessica touched her cheek, because Brooklyn looked too beautiful not to. “Hi.”
“Hey.”
“Are you all right?”
Brooklyn nodded, a reassuring smile touching her lips, but her eyes communicated more. There was a hunger there, that much was unmistakable, and something else too. Something Jessica couldn’t even begin to interpret.
She watched in captivation as Brooklyn grasped the hem of her T-shirt and pulled it slowly over her head. She sucked in a breath at the sight of Brooklyn topless in front of her, the visual more picturesque than anything she’d ever seen. She traced Brooklyn’s jaw with her finger and watched as her lips parted in rapt response.
She understood Brooklyn’s intentions. And now had a few of her own.
“Are you sure?” Jessica whispered to her. While she’d been ready to make love to Brooklyn for some time now, dreaming of it, in fact, she needed the reassurance that they were on the same page.
Brooklyn met her gaze. “Jess,” she said longingly.
Jess. The use of her name was a simple request, and Jessica understood. She slipped her hand from Brooklyn’s jaw, down to her neck and around the outside of her breast, never breaking eye contact. She circled underneath it, tracing the curve as Brooklyn hitched in a breath at the sensation, her eyes darkening. “Please,” she breathed. Jessica covered the breast with her palm fully, pushing against it, her thumb circling the nipple slowly. She eased her other hand into Brooklyn’s hair, pulling Brooklyn’s mouth to hers as intensity took over, spilling from her fingertips.
Brooklyn came willingly, her lips already parted in anticipation of the kiss, which seemed slow and fast at the same time. How was that possible? Jessica saw the world through a lust-induced fog. Her body thrummed with arousal, and a steady heat moved through her and sharply downward. But she was doing her damndest to keep control, to not get ahead of herself.
It was one of the harder tasks she’d taken on in her life, because this woman was so alluring it was impossible not to get carried away.
Brooklyn was on top of her now, kissing her with skilled precision, their legs intertwined. Brooklyn’s thigh was between hers. And that was good. It was what she needed. She pushed against it, a slow, addictive rhythm taking shape as the tension within her built steadily, climbing with each subtle movement.
Jessica wore only a tank top and panties, but Brooklyn was over it. She pulled her mouth from Jessica’s and tugged the offending shirt over her head. “God,” she breathed as she descended on Jessica once again. She placed open-mouthed kisses down the length of her neck, her collarbone, and settled decidedly on her breasts. She took her time, kissing, teasing, circling. Jessica ran her fingers into Brooklyn’s hair, but she was coming undone. She shifted beneath Brooklyn’s touch, seeking release from the wonderful torture. She rocked against her and a moan escaped her lips.
“I’ve got you,” Brooklyn murmured, glancing up at her before she continued her tantalizing exploration, looking damn sexy in the process. She kissed down Jessica’s stomach and slowly pulled the underwear down her legs, totally in control. She eased her hands behind Jessica’s thighs and parted her legs gently.
As Brooklyn kissed the insides of her thighs, Jessica attempted to steady her breathing, which was pointless because when Brooklyn’s thumbs skimmed up her legs and across her center, she flashed white. She heard a quiet whimper and realized secondarily that it was hers. She began to move against the touch in more determined desperation. Seemingly encouraged, Brooklyn lowered her mouth to Jessica and allowed her tongue to play, explore, bringing her to the edge and then backing off purposefully.
Jessica closed her eyes and tossed her head against the pillow, helpless to the onslaught, but Brooklyn held her in place. Finally, she pulled her in more firmly, providing direct attention where Jessica needed it most. And with a direct swipe of the tongue, it all came undone. The orgasm ripped through her hard and fast, a powerful jolt of pleasure that overtook her entirely. It pulled a sound from her, a wordless cry that communicated the heights she’d just been carried to.
As her breathing evened out, Brooklyn lingered, bringing her back down again gradually, reverently. Jessica looked up at her as she moved back up the bed. She reached out, brushing the hair back from Brooklyn’s forehead. She shook her head slowly as Brooklyn settled in alongside her, placing a kiss beneath her jaw.
“You continue to surprise me,” Jessica said, still in recovery mode, her nerve endings tingling in the most wonderful way.
“I can say the exact same thing. I’ve never met anyone so beautiful. So sexy.” Brooklyn skimmed an arm across her stomach.
Jessica stared at the ceiling, still reveling. “That was…I can’t even think of a word. This requires a ‘greater than’ symbol from math class.”
“Were you good at math?”
“I don’t even know. My brain isn’t giving me answers to anything right now.” She kissed Brooklyn softly and felt her grin against her mouth. “What?”
“All of those business suits and finally.”
Jessica laughed and cradled Brooklyn’s face. “What does that mean?”
“Confession time.”
“Excellent.”
She propped her head up on hand and looked down at Jessica. “I used to stare at you in those ultra-sleek designer suits you’d always wear and imagine getting you out of them and having my way with you. Just like this. You made it very hard to concentrate on my job.” She traced the outside of Jessica’s breast with her finger.
“Yeah? That happened more than once?”
Brooklyn nodded most decidedly, her eyes widening. “You have no idea.”
Except she did.
She remembered some very vivid fantasies of her own and was ready to experience them firsthand. She captured Brooklyn’s mouth in a kiss that didn’t take long to ignite them all over again. She’d relinquished control long enough, and she was ready to take it back.
But it wasn’t long before Brooklyn gently grasped Jessica’s wrists, halting their action. “Wait, wait, wait. Can we pause for a second?”
Jessica searched her face. “Are you okay?”
“I just…”
“What is it?”
“This is new for me.”
Jessica felt like she was a step behind and her mind raced to catch up. “What do you mean? Are you saying sex is new for you?”
“No.” A small smile flashed and then faded, replaced by what seemed to be trepidation. Brooklyn took a minute, her eyes searching Jessica’s as she tried to explain. “I’ve had plenty of sex. But sex like this, I mean, is new for me.” She held Jessica’s gaze before closing her eyes against the vulnerability of the confession.
And that’s when Jessica understood.
Brooklyn had never let anyone make love to her before. Feelings were involved this time, and that upped the ante. Her heart squeezed at the implication, and she brushed the hair from Brooklyn’s forehead tenderly. She looked both incredibly beautiful and vulnerable, and that combination was a hit of something powerful. Brooklyn wanted to trust her. She was letting her guard down in a way she hadn’t for anyone else.
And it was everything.
&nbs
p; “Hey, look at me.”
As Brooklyn’s blue eyes settled on hers, she continued. “You know I would never do anything to hurt you, don’t you?”
Brooklyn nodded.
“Let me show you something.” She picked up Brooklyn’s palm and kissed the inside of it before placing it over her heart. “Do you feel that? That’s you.”
“That’s me,” Brooklyn repeated, as if telling herself.
Brooklyn felt a lot of things in that moment. Excited, terrified, safe, loved. Whoa. Stop and rewind. That last word had popped into her head without preamble, but it resonated, smacking her squarely in the chest.
Jessica made her feel loved. She took a moment to revel in that realization.
And Jessica wanted her to be sure.
But the answer came to her easily. She closed the distance and kissed Jessica, tenderly this time, communicating feelings that she hadn’t yet articulated with words. But it was a bold step all the same.
And that seemed to be all the encouragement Jessica needed.
They continued to kiss, only it wasn’t long before the word tenderly slipped from the playing field altogether. As the seconds marched on, the level of heat between them escalated and took over. Jessica didn’t hesitate and shifted them until she was on top. Brooklyn ran her tongue across Jessica’s bottom lip, gaining entrance into the mouth that she never could get enough of.
As the tantalizing kissing continued, her muscles turned to liquid as Jessica moved against her, settling her hips between Brooklyn’s legs, her sleep shorts the only thing left to separate them. The intense aching only grew as Jessica worked her magic with the ever-so-subtle movements of her hips. She heard herself moan quietly against Jessica’s mouth and pushed her hands into silky, dark hair, gripping softly.
Jessica slipped a hand between them and into the shorts Brooklyn wore, closing her eyes in reaction to how ready Brooklyn already was. As she stroked her slowly, Brooklyn swore at the contact, at Jessica touching her for the first time. The effect was dizzying, and she was quickly swept into a tidal wave of wonderful need. She pushed back against Jessica’s hand, desperate for more.
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